The Police Service risked further alienating young British Muslims unless more was done to tackle "institutional Islamophobia" in its ranks say Islamic groups spokespersons.

The comments came after Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Tarique Ghaffur, called for an independent judicial inquiry into the radicalisation of young Muslims in the wake of the July 7 London bombings.

Massoud Shadjareh, chair of the Islamic Human Rights Commission, said: "It has been clear for a very long time that there is an institutional Islamophobia in the implementation of stop and search.

"We need to get rid of a culture that exists - unfortunately it exists in our society as a whole, but it is much more damaging when mixed with the powers the police have."

Tarique Ghaffur, the country's highest ranking Muslim officer, said Islamophobia in Western society had created a "generation of angry young people" who were vulnerable to extremism.

In a keynote speech to the National Black Police Association conference in Manchester, Mr Ghaffur said Britain, its police service and the Islamic community had reached a "critical crossroad" in efforts to prevent the "flight, fight or separation" of Muslims.

"The cumulative effect of Islamophobia, both internationally and nationally, linked to social exclusion, has created a generation of angry young people who are vulnerable to exploitation.

"The simplistic anti-western messages of extremist organisations can be attractive to such vulnerable young people, advocating closed and hostile views of other religions.

"We must think long and hard about the causal factors of anger and resentment. In particular, we need to adopt an evidence-based approach to building solutions.

Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari, secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, added, "Almost every Muslim family seems to know of someone, somewhere in the UK who has been stopped and searched for no reason other than the way they look or dress."